


One Hundred Christmases With You

by NeuroWriter14



Series: NW14's Merry Crisis [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry, Christmas Party, Do not repost, M/M, undersecretary tom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28321164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeuroWriter14/pseuds/NeuroWriter14
Summary: Harry and Tom have spent Christmas together in some form since they were little. And a holiday party at the Ministry gives them a chance to spend yet another together.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Series: NW14's Merry Crisis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072784
Comments: 18
Kudos: 111





	One Hundred Christmases With You

When Harry was seven, he had his first kiss.

Or well, what could be considered a kiss for a seven-year-old.

Tom Riddle was a year old than him and always a grade ahead of him first in their primary school and then again at Hogwarts. But Harry and Tom had known each other since they were little, the two of them growing up only a few houses down from each other. Tom's mother had moved there when she was still pregnant with him and no one ever knew where she came from previously. Only that she appeared in Godric's Hallow one day with a massive belly and sad eyes. Tom was born on December 31st. Harry was born later on July 31st. They had gone to the same schools, were accepted to Hogwarts within a year of each other, and spent most of their lives generally in each other's orbit. While Tom was in Slytherin, Harry was in Gryffindor, but they were still thick as thieves throughout their teen years and into adulthood. Harry found more friends in Gryffindor, but always, always, he was with Tom. 

But at seven was the first time they ever kissed. 

Mistletoe had hung in the doorway of the classroom, the professor's way of keeping students entering the classroom one at a time. After all, the other students had cooties. 

But one day, before the holiday break, Tom beckoned Harry to follow him back into the school while the other students were in the yard. Harry followed, mostly curious and partially up for trouble himself. He followed the older boy from the school, stopping outside Harry's classroom. 

"You know what this is?" He asked, looking up at the mistletoe. Harry nodded. Tom stepped under the mistletoe, his dark eyes gleaming with mischief. Harry wrung his hands as he stood at the corner of the hall, right before it curved into the classroom. He knew what mistletoe was, but he also knew that it was mostly for adults. He had never- He wouldn't- But Tom was so cute and he liked him. He had always liked Tom. Tom was his best friend. Glued to the hip they were! 

After several moments debate, he stepped forward, standing under the mistletoe with the older boy. 

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Tom said softly, pressing a chaste, barely-there kiss to Harry's lips. Harry had giggled and blushed and shrugged it off, resigned never to think of it again. Because he wasn't supposed to. 

That was years ago now. 

Harry and Tom were both adults working for the Ministry. Tom was an undersecretary and well on his way to becoming the next Minister of Magic with Hermione right behind him. Harry was an auror along with his friend Ron who was Hermione's husband. The Ministry had gone all out this year on holidays. Harry still had a hole in his neck from the Cupids that ran rampant during Valentine's Day. Every possible holiday was celebrated and it felt as though every other week had new decorations. He couldn't possibly fathom why the Ministry felt the need to celebrate Earth Day, but there had been a massive floating Earth in the main entryway to the Ministry anyway. Hannukah, the solstice, and Yule were all celebrated in a short amount of time, followed closely by the party that Harry was at now. Christmas. Kwanzaa was quickly behind it and then New Years following shortly after that. It had to be an expensive overall endeavor, but it was still fun nonetheless. Harry hadn't cooked for himself one day in December. Even if he didn't go to the parties, there were always leftovers from the many departments within the Ministry. 

Harry stood off to the side with some of the author aurors, nursing spiked eggnog and laughing at stories he had heard a million times. Hermione and Ron were flitting from group to group. But Harry found himself focusing most on Tom. 

Tom Riddle was always the center of attention. He had been attractive to Harry as a kid, but he had grown into his looks as an adult. Everyone loved Tom. He was charming and charismatic and he could use his good looks to his advantage. At Hogwarts, the professors thought he could do no wrong and even now, he could probably have charmed his way to Minister of Magic without any actual work if he wanted. He drew large crowds that he could easily manipulate and entertain. 

And Harry had been desperately in love with him for years.

He never did anything about it. Minus the shared kiss between them as children and a few winks here and there during their teen and adult years, Tom had never shown an inclination toward anyone. Not that people didn't try. It seemed no gender was immune to those high cheekbones, wavy dark hair, and his thousand-watt smile. Harry included. 

Harry kept to himself mostly, never revealing his feelings. It was one thing to have feelings, it was another to have them alone. And it wasn't Tom's fault, Harry always knew this. Tom didn't seem to be interested in anyone, and Harry's feelings weren't his problem. So he left them alone, tucked them away from the world, and focused only on being Tom's friend. 

He took another sip of the eggnog, finding it was his last and excused himself to find some more. And hopefully some food. It wouldn't due to make a drunken fool of himself. 

He slid away from his group, finding Ron and Hermione for the fourth time that night and chatting for a moment before they vanished again. Harry saw one or both of them nearly every day. Ron and his family were basically adopted by Harry's, making them all a massive extended family beyond that of the already always linked magical bloodlines.

He found another friend here and there, some from his Hogwarts days and some new. He crossed paths with Draco Malfoy, his longtime rival and yet strangely a close friend. And eventually, Harry made his way to the food. 

The crowd around him laughed and talked, music hummed, and floating lights flickered above them, illuminating the whole atrium. 

Small Santas flew around, propelled by reindeer, and snowflakes fell in their wake. 

Harry let himself continue to reminisce while he found a plate and piled it high while delicately balancing it over his once again full cup. 

He and Tom had been around each other in some form or fashion since they were children. Harry's parents had invited Tom and his mother over for several years when they were younger and eventually Ron and his family and Hermione and her family as well. The living room was always brimming with gifts while the adults chatted and the kids devolved into snowball fights. Ron's little sister always found a way to pelt Tom with snowballs while Fred and George would often make snow explore in Ron's face. Tom's mother, Merope, eventually lost the always sad look in her eyes, smiling more, seeming to understand that she had found a place amongst her peers. Harry was certain that his parents still invited her and Ron and Hermione's parents over for dinner on Christmas Eve and they were all expected there on Christmas Day, Tom, Harry, Ron, and Hermione and all of the grandchildren.

Harry and Tom were the only ones without children. Neither had ever married and Harry was quite content with that. He didn't need marriage and knowing Tom, he would never marry. Though Harry loved him, he wasn't the biggest fan of Tom's sense of superiority. 

He maneuvered his way through the crowd carefully, finding a table to enjoy his meal and drink once more. 

He watched as people danced and laughed, chatted with people who found their way to his table, and eventually finished the food and drink he gathered for himself. 

Surprisingly, though, by the time he finished the last sip of his eggnog, Tom appeared at his side. 

Harry greeted him as he would anyone else, ignoring the mischievous look in those dark eyes. It never bodes well for him to be a part of Tom's schemes. While they had been relatively tame in their younger years, in Hogwarts Harry had found his way to detention more than once because of Tom's schemes. And Tom was never there with him. 

They stood in relative silence, neither of them needing to say anything. 

He was always grateful for how easily they understood each other. When he moved, Tom moved. When he needed the silence, Tom wouldn't speak. And when Tom needed the attention, Harry was more than willing to give it to him. They existed in some strange peace between them at all times, never taking more than they were giving. 

"Harry," Tom whispered, leaning closer. His breath tickled Harry's ear and it took everything within him to keep from reacting. "Come with me." 

"Where are we going?" Harry whispered back, turning to make certain he was heard over the dull roar. 

"You'll see," Tom answered, his lips quirking upward. 

"I don't like this," Harry said. "You always get me in trouble." 

"You like trouble." Tom was smug when he spoke. 

Harry smirked. "But you never get in trouble." 

"Me? Trouble? Never." The other winked and then began to move around him, his hand running over Harry's back as he did. "Come with me." He said again and then began to pick his way through the crowd. 

Harry sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face before vanishing his plate and cup. With another sigh, he followed Tom through the crowd, watching from a short distance as Tom was greeted enthusiastically. People batted their eyelashes, stroked his arm, grinned broadly, and lit up at his general presence. Eventually, though, Tom escaped them all, continuing to weave through the crowd with Harry behind him as though he were on a leash. 

Eventually, they wound their way through the Ministry, far enough from the party that it was merely a hum in the background. 

They had found their way to Tom's office which Harry had spent several a lunch in, sitting across the desk from his oldest friend. 

Tom stopped and turned in the doorway, his lips quirking slightly and his gaze growing heavier by the second. Harry couldn't help but wonder what his friend was up to this time as he neared him. Eventually, that dark heavy gaze flitted upward. Harry followed it, finding a familiar plant hanging above his head. 

"Do you know what this is?" Tom asked softly as Harry neared. They were within arm's reach of each other. Harry could pull Tom away from the mistletoe and treat this as a joke. Or Tom could drag him under. He stopped just outside the doorway, not under the familiar plant, but not far enough away. 

He nodded. 

Tom waggled his finger at him, beckoning him closer with a heavy gaze and playful smirk. And Harry was helpless not to obey. Not when it was Tom. 

The older man pulled him closer as he entered the doorway, his fingers pressed right against the back of Harry's neck. 

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Tom whispered. The smug, mischievous, playful look was gone. His pretense had vanished. His eyes were focused on Harry's lips as he pressed closer. 

Harry tilted his head up, meeting those soft lips in a kiss that was far more experienced than their childhood selves could ever have dreamed of. The other's arms moved around him, pressing them close. Harry's fingers dug into Tom's bicep with his other hand fisting in wavy, chestnut locks. 

They broke apart for a breath only to adjust and fall into another kiss. 

Harry's stomach was backflipping in his gut and his heart was pounding. He felt as though he could fly on his own as he stood there wrapped in Tom's arms. 

"Been wanting to do that again," Tom whispered before pressing him into another kiss. 

"I-" Harry tried to answer, flustered by the sudden change of events. "I didn't get you anything." He said dumbly. 

Tom smiled, stroking his cheek, and then waving his hand. A bow appeared and the other placed it very carefully into Harry's wild hair. 

"You're my present." 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me on [Tumblr](https://neurowriter14.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NWriter14)


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